TY - CONF
T1 - The win, the worth, and the work of play: Exploring phenomenal entertainment values in online gaming experiences
AU - Banks, Jaime D.
AU - Bowman, Nicholas
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Popular opinion of digital games tends to classify them as toys, diversions and
distractions, however this focus on games solely as sources of hedonic pleasure is theoretically,
empirically, and phenomenologically myopic – it obscures the full range of affective, emotional,
and cognitive experiences that one can have when playing digital games. In this vein, this study
explores the phenomenal experience of enjoyment and appreciation in online games, addressed
through players’ descriptions of favorite gameplay memories. Through emergent thematic
analysis of these descriptions and statistical analysis of individual differences, we demonstrate
that elements of online game content can be both enjoyed as ego-driven reward and achievement
and appreciated relationally with respect to other players, characters, and the gameworld.
However, memorable game experiences are not necessarily experienced as having entertainment
value, such that games scholars should be more inclusive of what is consi
AB - Popular opinion of digital games tends to classify them as toys, diversions and
distractions, however this focus on games solely as sources of hedonic pleasure is theoretically,
empirically, and phenomenologically myopic – it obscures the full range of affective, emotional,
and cognitive experiences that one can have when playing digital games. In this vein, this study
explores the phenomenal experience of enjoyment and appreciation in online games, addressed
through players’ descriptions of favorite gameplay memories. Through emergent thematic
analysis of these descriptions and statistical analysis of individual differences, we demonstrate
that elements of online game content can be both enjoyed as ego-driven reward and achievement
and appreciated relationally with respect to other players, characters, and the gameworld.
However, memorable game experiences are not necessarily experienced as having entertainment
value, such that games scholars should be more inclusive of what is consi
M3 - Paper
ER -